The Stanley Cup Finals is slated to begin in the coming week, which means the New Jersey Devils are now some time removed from playing hockey. A couple weeks ago, we reviewed, analyzed, and graded each of the team’s forwards and their performances this past season. Next up, the team’s defensemen and goaltenders.
Seamus Casey
Rookie defenseman Seamus Casey skated in 14 regular season games for the Devils and one game in the playoffs. Across that sample, he showed his electric offensive talents, resulting in four goals on only 12 shots to go along with four assists. However, the underlying metrics weren’t kind to Casey, signifying that there is a lot more to go as far as his defensive game goes.
Casey ranked dead last on the Devils in Corsi-against per 60 minutes (CA/60), second-to-last in shot against per 60 minutes (SA/60), and fourth-to-last in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60). When ranking that against the league as a whole, he ranked 13th-worst in CA/60, 38th-worst in SA/60, and 36th-worst in xGA/60 among 267 qualified defensemen.
Grade: C
Brenden Dillon
The Devils brought in veteran defenseman Brenden Dillon in the offseason on a three-year deal that looked a little steep at the time of signing. As the season went on, those worries seemed confirmed, as the 34-year-old turned in an up-and-down season. Dillon played all 82 games in the regular season, averaging 18:35 of ice time per night. He was then limited to one game in the playoffs, as he injured his neck against the Hurricanes.
Interestingly enough, Dillon’s season profiled the complete opposite as he has throughout his career. His on-ice defensive metrics ranked in the league’s fifth percentile, specifically signifying a struggle on the penalty kill. On the flip side of that, his offensive impacts, thanks largely due to his partnership with Dougie Hamilton, ranked in the league’s 66th percentile.
Not to mention, in his one playoff game, Dillon struggled mightily, posting a 4.37 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%).
Grade: C-
Brian Dumoulin
The Devils acquired veteran defenseman Brian Dumoulin at the trade deadline in a somewhat surprising move given the return. The Devils parted with a second-round pick, which seemed extremely steep for a player having a down season and in the last year of his deal. Given the size of the return, it was nice to see how large of a role Dumoulin ended up playing, especially in the playoffs, where he was instrumental in the team’s Game 3 double-overtime victory where he logged 36:24 of ice time.
The on-ice results were better with New Jersey, but still not strong, granted, the heavy workload. In the regular season, Dumoulin owned the third-worst xGF% of any defensemen on the team. As far as goals above replacement (GAR) goes, Dumoulin owned the seventh-worst GAR per 60 minutes among defenseman on the team and second-worst defensive GAR per 60 minutes on the game.
Grade: C+
Dougie Hamilton
Unfortunately, it was another season of missed time for Dougie Hamilton. The Devils’ top defenseman missed 18 games of the regular season, before returning for the playoffs. In those 64 games, Hamilton posted 40 points, which put him on pace for 51, which would have been the second-highest of his career.
When he was on the ice, Hamilton’s on-ice metrics profiled very strong. Offensively, he graded out in the league’s 93rd percentile. Despite missing a plethora of games, Hamilton’s overall goals above replacement (GAR) of 10.4 ranked 27th in the league among defenseman. Specifically, the offensive portion of that GAR, when prorated over 60 minutes, ranked second among 221 defensemen to play at least 500 total minutes this season.
With that being said, it was a struggle at times defensively. Over his career, despite the narrative, Hamilton has always been about league average defensively. However, his defensive on-ice metrics ranked in the league’s 11th percentile this season. Despite this, he was still one of the most valuable offensive defenseman in the league, when healthy.
Grade: A-
Luke Hughes
The Devils relied on the 21-year-old Luke Hughes a ton this season, as he played over 21 minutes a night. Due to this, he was one of the most noticeable Devils on a nightly basis, however, an analysis into the traditional analytics paint a so-so picture.
Hughes ranked sixth among nine Devils defenseman in xGF%. Additionally, his on-ice metrics were middling, ranking overall in the 26th percentile with the offense in the 56th and defense in the 15th percentiles, respectively. Against that top-tier competition, playing over 20 minutes a night, the impacts weren’t anything special and actually painted some struggles.
The area where Hughes really excelled, and why he was so notable, was in transition. He was great with the puck on his stick, specifically with exiting and entering the zone. Usually, sustained strong “micro-statistics,” will translate to strong impacts. The signs are all there for the young Hughes to progress into an elite force on the back end.
Grade: B-
Jake Allen
Jake Allen was quietly one of the biggest bargains in the league this season. The 34-year-old veteran carried a cap hit below $2 million. In doing so, he turned in an extremely strong season with the Devils, posting a 0.906 save percentage and four shutouts.
Further showing how strong he was, Allen had a 19.07 goals saved above expected, which ranked 14th in the league among 98 goalies to play a game this season. Serving in a back-up role, Allen thrived and was everything the Devils could have asked for.
Grade: A-